Household Chores and Science for Space Residents

Commander Dan Burbank gathered crew clothes Wednesday for stowage in a new location creating more space in the Permanent Multipurpose Module. He also continued the ongoing checks and tests of Robonaut 2. The humanoid robot demonstrated its dexterity performing sign language and also took measurements of air velocity in the Destiny laboratory.

Flight Engineer Don Pettit took part in life sciences work wearing gear that measures how the body adapts to microgravity. Observations can help scientists develop countermeasures to the loss of bone and muscle mass as well as heart shrinkage that occur during long-duration space missions. Pettit later cleaned filters sampling for bacteria and then assisted Burbank with Robonaut 2.

Andre Kuipers, flight engineer and European Space Agency astronaut, spent his morning conducting maintenance work. In the afternoon he gathered and stowed more crew clothes then downloaded life science data collected during heart monitoring sessions into a computer.

Flight Engineer Anatoly Ivanishin worked with the Zvezda service module’s ventilation system performing preventive maintenance. He also cleaned fan guards and screens inside the Zarya cargo module.

Flight Engineer Oleg Kononenko performed battery work for a couple of experiments in the station’s Russian segment. He also continued ongoing photography of the Earth to help scientists forecast the potential effects of natural and man-made disasters.